Anyone feel this way?

Hi Everyone!
I am new to this site, and I will be attending an informational seminar for LapBand surgery this thursday night.  I have been wanting to have LapBand for atleast 4 years, but have not had health insurance that would actually cover it until now.  My husband's company just changed insurance Jan. 1st and I am excited that this is actually an option for me now.  I have always been overweight.  I weighed nearly 10 lbs when I was born, and do not have a single picture of me when I wasn't overweight.  I am happily married, ans very blessed with a fabulous husband of nearly 17 years, and we have two precious daughters.  This is the crazy part...the thought of being thin actually scares me a little bit.  I have learned to live a very satisfying life, in spite of my weight issues.  Have any of you felt the same way, like wondering if losing the weight will change things?  Also, the one of the things we really enjoy doing as a family is going out to dinner.  It seems like all of the fun times revolve around spending time together, which always involves eating good food (and not necessarily good for you).  How is having the LapBand going to change these times for me?  Will I still be able to go out to eat with the family?  I know there are major changes we need to make as a family when it comes to food, and I feel like getting the LapBand will not only benefit me, but our entire family.  Just a little anxious, and super excited at the same time.  Any words of advice or encouragement will be greatly appreciated!!  Thanks!

Yay for you ! I wish you all the best =)   I can feel where you are coming from . I can say that at least for me I have become MORE insecure after starting to lose because I cannot hide behind my weight anymore. (or starting to not be able too lol)  Our family time revolves around eating too! This has been a challenge for me. Eating for me is a time consuming thing not just a meal anymore....gotta remember to chew and take small bites and give everything time to go down .I was a shoveler when I ate.LOL Old habits are hard to break. So learning to eat again and do so in a social enviornment can be a little stressing but doable!
BUT.... it is SO worth it !!!! Watching the scale move and your body change and getting to buy cute things instead of just what fits .Walking around the mall w/o getting winded or sweating to death! I LOVE my choice and am so happy I made it. Once you decide all will be fine. It is a learning experience for all of us bandsters but the pros outway the cons as far as I am concerned.:)

HI there,

I have a family also and to be honest I haven't changed that much from what I use to cook before.  I was never a person that fried foods anyways . I always sauteed foods or baked them in the oven.  The only thing I do fry is fried tators and we do that about once every two weeks :o)

Like my NUT and support group meetings has told us. Its portion control and moderation on what you eat.

I don't deprive myself of anything.  Of course if the band has problems with that food I don't eat it, but I'm almost 2 months post op and there hasn't been anything I "cant " eat.

I eat whatever I fixed my family but just with my portions 1/2 cup of protein, 1/4 cup of veggies and 1/4 cup of veggies or carbs my choice there.

I watch my carbs through the day so I can eat whatever carbs they are having that night.

like one of the vets told me on here and this is how I do it also its moderation not deprivation !!

I do not deprive myself of nothing.  I jus****ch again my portions and how many times a month I will eat that food.

I love pizza my ultimate downfall on foods.  I still eat it . In fact I'm going to have pizza and wings this coming Sat when the Steelers play the Ravens if I'm not at the game .  I eat one slice of pizza small thin crust and a couple of wings.  I can sit there eat football foods enjoy them but eat alot less then I did before :o) I don't sit down and eat 20 wings and 4 slices of pizza if not more like I did before.

Pizza is a treat to me so I order it just once a month instead of 3 times a week like I use to :o)

I go out to eat with my family .  Instead of ordering three meals we just order two and I pick what I want off hubby's and son's plates :o)   They both order something different so I can taste everything .  Hubby loves it , we can go to Outback for two dinners instead of three or if its just Hubby and I we get one meal .


You will be just fine :o)  I will warn you though and I'm not the only one that went through this.  When you are doing your pre op and post op especially the first three weeks of post op **depends on your docs diets to **** it is extremely hard when you have to cook for a family. 

You will be hungry, you will want to eat , and you will have so many emotions going through you it wont be funny.  I was ticked off that I had to cook when I couldn't eat, but if hubby offered to go out and eat so I wouldn't cook that ticked me off also  lol.  Poor hubby he didn't know what way to turn but he was very patient and let me cry , scream and yell if I needed to .

Good luck we will all be here for you !!!

As far as going out to eat, I just ask for a "to go box" when I order my meal, put 2/3 of the meal in the box when my food arrives and close it up.  I actually take longer to eat compared to the others eating the large volume of food.   I drink water right up until my meal is served and then I don't drink. 

Hopefully once you get to a healthier weight, more of your fun family times can be centered around new physical activities. 

Change is stressful, but getting healthier is worth the effort and the changes that it will take!

Kristi

Hi, I'm pretty new to this site also.  Not very technology minded either so I can't even put a pic on, but hope to get one of my kids to show me how to do that.  Just now learning a little about how to navigate around in this site.  My surgery (lap band) is in 2 days and I feel everything from tremendously excited to scared to death.  My doc says once you've healed, eat what you like, but just a little.  My idea is to order something that can be reheated at home and get a to go box when it's time.  He says ALWAYS eat protein first, that's what satisfies your hunger.  Tiny bites, small sips, and chew, chew, chew.  I don't know anything from experience yet...but it won't be long.  If I can do this, I know you can too.

I agree with the other posters. I LOVE my band! Now, there have been some trying times..such as the plenty of times I have become stuck!! I now have a completely unfilled band but still have restriction for the most part. I like the "hammer to the head" approach that says when I need to stop! I am learning every day and you will too...

As for eating out, my DH and I do alot of that and we just split meals. I eat exactly what I want and try to make good choices. No matter what, you still have to work at it but the tool is there to help.

Good luck and welcome to the LOSER's BENCH soon!!

Conchita

My words of advice would be to research ALL the WLS's! Ask about them on their forums and go to the revision forum and see what most of the ppl are revising FROM. If u notice a trend..............THERE MUST BE A REASON.

CHOOSE YOUR WLS WISELY!!!

Thank you all SO much for your words of wisdom and encouragement!  I know it will not be an easy fix by any means, but I am just excited about having the help I desperately need to get this weight off.  I am not a huge portion eater, I just like eating foods that taste good, and for me it's usually junk food, sweets, Outback cheese fries, etc., etc. (you know what I mean)!  I also have Thyroid Disease, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an underactive thyroid.  I take synthroid daily, so hopefully this won't complicate my progress.

I wish all of you the very best, and I already feel like I belong in this forum! 

I jad my band 4 wks. ago today. I just wanted to tell you that 3 yrs. ago I had cancer of the thyroid and the removed the entire thyroid.. I took synthroid until a few months ago. I now take Armour Thyroid which is not a synthetic pill like synthroid and works better for me. But I asked my doctor last week if not having it would slow my weight loss.. he said as long as the T levels are good.  I have blood work every few months and check at the endocronolgist.  I love having the band and I'm losing as well as everyone that I have spok to on this site..I wish you the best, I had tried everything before and kept gaining. this is a tool that is working for me. good luck!

I have had my band for almost a year and am finally at great restriction and have had very minimal problems.  I LOVE IT.   I am down 75 lb's and look forward to the rest of it coming off.  However, you must be ready to make food changes because all that sweet stuff you love will still go in...as will the chips...as will almost anything that is bad for you with a few exceptions, like I couldn't get pizza in if I  soaked it in oil.   

I had  fooled myself into thinking I was going to make the changes immediately, but I didn't at first.  Your still most likely going to try to eat the stuff you shouldn't.  Your head may not follow you into the journey for a while, it's still very hard for me.  I do feel that the lap band has helped me make real changes that I will keep forever, this is why I like it.

GOOD LUCK!